John Mahler (born November 16, 1936,

Alpha, Iowa Alpha is an unincorporated community in Fayette County, Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is b ...

), is a former open wheel race car driver in the USAC and

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

Championship Car series. He raced in the 1970-1973 and 1976-1981 seasons, with 39 combined career starts, including the 1972 and 1977-1979 Indianapolis 500. He finished in the top ten 6 times, with his best finish in 6th position in 1970 at the Indianapolis Raceway Park road course. Mahler qualified for the

1971 Indianapolis 500 The 55th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Saturday, May 29, 1971. Al Unser Sr. won for the second consecutive year, dominating most of the race. Unser became the fourth driver ...

but was replaced by his teammate who did not qualify, Dick Simon, due to sponsorship commitments. Mahler was presented with the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association Jigger Award for the driver with the most hard luck. He was a member of the 1977 and 1979 Last Row Party for earning a position in the 11th and final row of the starting grid. Mahler currently owns and operates Classic Concrete Designs in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

Complete motorsports results

American Open-Wheel racing results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest race lap)

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Indianapolis 500 results

External links

Driver Database Profile
1936 births Mahlar, John Living people Indianapolis 500 drivers People from Fayette County, Iowa Racing drivers from Iowa SCCA National Championship Runoffs participants {{US-autoracing-bio-stub